It’s been two full years since “The Rise of Skywalker” hit theaters on Dec. 20, 2019, and boy howdy have a few things changed since then.
COVID-19 made its smashing debut a few weeks after that (well, not technically, but we became conscious of its impact at that point), and we continue to work our way through dealing (or not dealing) with that.
One of those impacts has been a decided lack of blockbusters making a gagillion dollars in theatrical runs. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” got a ton of butts back in seats in recent weeks (to the tune of $627 million domestic), but if you look at a list of the biggest money makers in the U.S. from December of 2019 until now, the list looks like this:
No Way Home
Rise of Skywalker
[end]
Rise made $515 million during its theatrical release, an objectively huge number. That figure ranks it fourth among Star Wars movies, about $100 million behind “The Last Jedi” and $17 million or so behind “Rogue One.”
Those numbers are meant to offer some context. A movie that was highly polarizing, much like its immediate predecessor, nevertheless made significant bank.
So, the natural follow-up question to that might be this: What made the movie appealing to such a large number of people? And why might it be worth revisiting today?
Let’s dive into that!
Brand loyalty might be worth speaking to upfront, because an honest appraisal of the movie involves that factor. People who gravitated toward Star Wars at any point over the last 40-plus years are much likelier to want to consume more of it now, regardless of how mixed their feelings might be about any particular pieces of the story.
Indeed, taken to a slightly more specific place, if a person has watched “The Force Awakens” and/or “The Last Jedi,” that person might naturally have a curiosity about where the story might go. Loyalty might not even enter the equation so much as something more like interest. “Well, I’ve gotten this far; I may as well see what happens next.” Independent of quality or personal enjoyment, a person might merely want completion or resolution.
So those things enter into it, of course. Some people like Star Wars in a general sense, so they went to the movie. And some people wanted to know what happens next, so they went to the movie.
All of this is acknowledged and granted.
But…
Why then, does the movie have such favorable audience scores from sites like Rotten Tomatoes?
People saw the movie, some perhaps because they felt they needed to.
But no one forced them to like it.
So, what made them like it?
I start with the basic premise of pacing, because from the moment the movie starts, that’s what’s so apparently different about “Rise” from other movies in the series, or even other movies in general.
This movie moves at breakneck speed. And it starts with the opening crawl and basic plot: The big bad is back! That’s all you need to know. GO!
And GO it does. In the opening 10-ish minutes of runtime, we see Kylo Ren, the Dark Side mantle-carrier from the previous two films, wreck some fools on a planet they don’t even bother to identify because we’re in such a hurry (it’s Darth Vader’s previous residence of Mustafar, for whatever it’s worth), go meet Emperor Palpatine (surprise, he’s back!), the rebels, er, the resistance, figure out that the big bad guy is back (via light-speed hopping from planet to planet) and we see that Rey is training with Leia.
Boom, we’re caught up, and ready to hop to another several planets over the course of the rest of our runtime.
If you found the pacing a bit extreme, congratulations, you’re in the number of “people who have experienced Star Wars.” This is, by now, a tradition. And if you want to find any connection you can between this movie and previous films in the canon, that’s absolutely the most glaring similarity you’ll find.
Consider this quote from The New Yorker about “A New Hope,” taken in 1977:
“There’s no breather in the picture. … It’s enjoyable on its own terms, but it’s exhausting, too: like taking a pack of kids to the circus.”
George Lucas very famously made mention that he wanted to film a “faster” version of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” among the many goals and ambitions he had for his space saga. And in later years, he would push things further and further in this regard, acknowledging that his intent was to always test the audience’s threshold for a faster pace.
Each film was faster (in other words, using shorter and shorter cuts) than the last.
“The Empire Strikes Back” is a very clear case of a sequel trying to outdo its predecessor. That extended to the edit. It’s a movie that flows quickly.
“Return of the Jedi” utilized an ante-building approach, both in how it built toward its conclusion in terms of scope, but also in how it outdid Empire with its three-way conclusion, wherein the viewer is transported among three different conflicts and expected to keep up throughout.
The prequels attempted to push the envelope further, culminating in one of the more divisive films in the canon. I recall specific critiques, at the time of release, of “Revenge of the Sith” having the same “problem” as “Rise,” that of it feeling too rapid a film, or of being too overstuffed. I didn’t share that belief, but I very patiently listened to it from others, because it was their experience. The film was trying to do a lot and achieve it very quickly. I enjoyed that about it. Others didn’t. But it was another clear step in the same direction.
None of this is new.
What “The Rise of Skywalker” does is take this rapid cutting and attempt to keep things moving quickly … and apply it even more aggressively than previous films. A major revelation or plot point is rapidly discarded in favor of the next thrill or set piece or character introduction, and honestly, it all feels very exhausting to the olds in the audience.
Ah, and there we eventually have it, don’t we?
It does what Star Wars has always done: it pushes against the boundaries of the medium. And in doing so, it simultaneously annoys traditionalists (in this case, film buffs AND older Star Wars fans) while appealing to a younger set.
Are these, strictly speaking, just kids films? No, of course not. To say as much is to be dismissive. In the same way that a Pixar film like “Coco” can give the adults in the room a satisfying story and emotional experience while also appealing to children with bright colors and simple concepts, that’s probably when Star Wars is at its best. When it cuts across demographics and engages on a level that is relatable to all is when it transcends its own limitations.
But please recall the original intent: Get the kids in the theater and tell them a story that they can understand, relate to, and that will inspire them for years to come.
On multiple occasions, Lucas has said this. It’s no secret.
“Friendships, honestly, trust, doing the right thing, living on the right side and avoiding the dark side,” Lucas said in 2017. “Those are the things it was meant to do.”
Some of us are in the inspiration stage of things and forgetful about how we got there.
Yes, Palpatine being back is silly. So let’s lean into that: don’t explain it. Keep it silly. Keep it weird. And give everyone an opportunity to roll their eyes at it and move on.
The point of Palpatine isn’t the machinations behind why the character is back. It’s instead meant to connect the nine movies together in a more satisfying way. Bring back a fan favorite, have him cackle at the screen and shoot lightning at people, and then watch him be destroyed (again).
Were people really complaining about this?
Well, the olds were.
My kids LOVED this movie. It’s their favorite Star Wars movie. This is THEIR Star Wars.
Why did they gravitate toward it?
Well, they got to experience it in the theater, for one. Being at that impressionable age and watching those events unfold on that big screen … there are few experiences like it.
But they also like this movie for other reasons; the reasons that (mostly older) people liked to dump on it.
It’s a fast movie. Check.
It’s got the return of a fan favorite. Check.
It features the most relatable group of principles (in terms of the demographics and acting) in the history of the saga. Check.
Lots of things go boom. Check.
And perhaps most importantly, the moral guidance is still there. We haven’t discarded what makes the films truly special in the process of trying to land with a younger generation. No, instead we’ve embraced the history.
This is a movie about living up to someone else’s legacy.
That’s about the most meta film J.J. Abrams could have possibly created, and I have little doubt that it was done intentionally.
Write about what you know.
George Lucas, as he should have done, told us a story he knew about. His story was about a young idealist, trying to do good in the world, trying to avoid the mistakes of the past, and yet being faced with a conflict of possibly turning into what he hated. He told us that story twice, in fact, over the course of six movies.
Abrams, in “Rise of Skywalker,” is sharing his truth as well. The characters here are struggling with the burden of expectations. With trying to live up to what has happened before. With filling the roles laid out for them.
When you look at Star Wars as being autobiographical, it all becomes a little easier to understand … both in terms of the larger point, but also in why certain creative choices were made.
Lucas loves cars and diners and silly space movies, and there you go.
Abrams loves movies and making movies and lens flares, and there you go.
His approach here, as opposed to what the audience sees in “The Force Awakens,” is bold and creative. Whereas the former was a loving tribute to a specific vision, “Rise” is wild and unfocused. What appears to be an intergalactic glacier is one of the first settings we see, and the film doesn’t stray from that type of creativity as it moves forward. Bright, colorful worlds and creatures who inhabit them are the order of the day. Sci-fi and fantasy don’t have to be “grounded” here so much as before.
A friggin’ Death Star crashed into a planet? Hit me! A ship stuck at the bottom of an ocean is flight-worthy? Sure. A fleet of ships so preposterously large that it can’t be contained by a simple shot? Go for it! A lightning storm that can disable everything in view? Let’s do this thing.
The handcuffs, at least from a visual perspective, are well and truly off. And as they should have been. When you’re 11 movies deep, now is not the time to play it safe and familiar. Now is the time to innovate and thrill.
The sequel trilogy, at large, was faced with that eternal challenge of creating new Star Wars: how can you reference what came before, but create something worthwhile and new at the same time?
With “Rise,” the visuals represent a a bold creative choice. The themes, on the other hand, are familiar.
Rey is trying to understand her role in the galaxy, and following the big reveal, she has to wrestle with the idea of predestination. Is she fated to behave a certain way because of her family history?
Kylo Ren is also dealing with the question of legacy. He wants to live up to the standard set by his grandfather. And yet, ultimately, his connection with his mother and Rey leads him down a different path.
Finn continues his path away from the shadow of the dark side, but also in learning about agency.
Leia and Luke are trying to impart their wisdom on the next generation. Attempting to do what is right, rather than what is easy.
Ultimately, it’s the more intimate character work in “Rise” that is the film’s biggest bragging point. For all of the awkward plotting and hit-or-miss visuals, it’s the quieter stuff between people trying to connect with one another that’s most consistently effective. Finn finds a shared experience with a new character, Jannah, along our journey that’s touching. His yearning to connect with Rey and Poe remains some of his character’s best stuff too.
Yes, we’d like more for him to do. Yes, we’d like the reveal about his force sensitivity to be more clearly laid out. But his interplay with Poe and Rey has always been one of the strengths of the sequel trilogy, and it remains so here.
We see the same dynamics at play with each of our modern “big three” of Rey, Finn, and Poe. They are pointedly kept together in this movie by the director in response to criticism that they were always apart previously, and again, this is a strength of this film. There is a certain beauty in people yearning to connect with others and finding friendship through personal interaction. So many of us, in a COVID-affected world, want the same. No, NEED the same. And I don’t imagine it’s any less of a concern for the younger generation. My own observations have shown me that, if anything, it’s more pronounced.
Yes, we can connect through texting or zoom meetings or what have you. But there is no substitute for someone actually being there. Being present physically, as well as emotionally.
“Rise” is a good reminder of that.
Of course, the primary relationship on center stage is Rey and Ben. I wrote about the dynamics of their relationship last time around in “The Last Jedi,” and perhaps some of it bears repeating here:
“Her interactions with Ben are next-level for a Star Wars film, subtle and poignant. We don’t have to sit around wondering about familial connections or romantic interest, because those things aren’t the point. Instead, we see two wounded and damaged people finding strength in a connection with another person.”
This is once again the main point in “Rise,” because while Rey has moved along (but only mostly), Ben remains fixated on her. She’s his tether to a braver, brighter world. He has it all confused in his head and he needs a literal lightsaber to the stomach to shock him out of it, but he eventually comes around to meeting her on her own terms. He has to take the steps, not her, because he’s the idiot out there hurting everyone.
But once he does, it’s a sight to see.
Ben comes through big during the film’s conclusion, and he gives us what we’ve longed for from him ever since he gave us a taste of it in Snoke’s throne room last time around. He’s cast away the self-destructive behavior. He’s coming to the aid of those he cares about. He’s leaning into his potential, not running from it.
It’s one of the most satisfying sequences in the entire saga.
This was always the lesson he should have taken from his grandfather’s journey. Anakin needed to begin the process of healing with Luke, not the other way around.
This concept of understanding what has come before and learning from it is everywhere in this movie. Moreover, the younger characters, in particular, are struggling with the burdens of expectations.
It isn’t easy to be the grandkid of Darth Vader.
It isn’t easy to take on the mantle of “director of Star Wars.”
And it isn’t easy to have a bunch of older fans yammering at you about what you should and shouldn’t like as a fan new to this stuff.
The future of Star Wars is, as yet, undetermined. But it HAS a future. And whether it’s in TV, film, print or carved onto stone tablets, it’ll be here for fans’ consumption in some form or another (the Disney purchase assured us of this) for a long time to come.
Just knowing that is comforting. And “The Rise of Skywalker” shows us the path Star Wars can continue to take to ensure its own future.
Continue to excite and thrill.
Be diverse and inclusive.
And share those lessons of right and wrong.
That’s not only my Star Wars. That’s everyone’s Star Wars.
Liked this post? Check out:
My retrospective on “Solo”
My retrospective on “The Last Jedi”
My retrospective on “Rogue One”
My retrospective on “The Force Awakens”
My retrospective on “Revenge of the Sith”
My retrospective on “Attack of the Clones”
My retrospective on “The Phantom Menace”
My retrospective on “Return of the Jedi”
My retrospective on “The Empire Strikes Back”
My retrospective on “Star Wars: A New Hope”